| Lee
Turkey Farm Hightstown, NJ |
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Do you love eating turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas? Do you know how those big frozen birds get to the store where you buy them? We learned all about this sometimes overlooked process. Our timing couldn't have been better as we traveled through New Jersey the week before Thanksgiving. Susan called Janet Lee, a friend she had met in Princeton while they were both nannies back in 1985. While in New Jersey, Janet met and married Ronnie Lee, who has since taken over his father's farm. Not only did they happily agree to let us watch as they processed turkeys, but they graciously invited us to park our motorhome on their farm for a few days as we made other day trips in the area. (Thanks!) Their 54-acre farm has been in the family for six generations and 131 years. Lee Turkey Farm is an efficiently-run, very productive place that has become a popular destination for visitors wanting a hands-on farm experience. |
) We
got to go into the turkey coop and watch as some of the turkeys were herded
into a corner. Next, Amanda remembers, "John used a hook
to pull the turkeys feet, then Ronnie would take them and put them in cages.
They could fit five small turkeys in one cage or three big turkeys. There
were 12 cages on the trailer that was pulled by a tractor." |
Don't
Eat Too Much Turkey! |
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Amanda said, "When we were still, they came close and stared at us. It made me sad to see the turkeys being stuffed in the cages. When the tractor went past, they looked back at me with their cute eyes." |
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) This
is the slaughter room, after being cleaned for the night. We watched a bit
of what happens here. Harrison hid behind Mom for most of the time,
but watched enough to report, "Ronnie takes one turkey from the
crates and puts it head down in one of the big metal funnels (right in the
photo), then quickly slits the throat and lets the blood drip out. The turkey
wiggles a lot, then stops." |
175
Easy-To-Do Thanksgiving Crafts |
) Next,
the turkeys are put in a steamy "bath" to open the pores so the
feathers come out easily. "Then, they are put into this machine
that has rubber "fingers" in it. It spins quickly, rubbing all
the feathers off. Then, the turkeys are dropped into a cold tub of water
to cool down," said Amanda. We learned that the feathers
are used as fertilizer on the farm. |
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) We
named this the "disassembly line". Harrison remembers,
"Ronnie cuts off the head, then skins the neck and cuts it off.
He's very fast! Next, he cuts a hole in the bottom and pulls out the guts.
He passes the heart, liver and the gizzard to his wife, Janet, who cuts
them up and throws out the yucky parts." Amanda watched
Janet open a gizzard and take out the pouch that had ground up corn and
gravel in it. "The gizzard is for grinding up the turkey's food
since it doesn't have teeth. They swallow tiny rocks that grind up the corn." |
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 Faces
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At the age of 17, Ronnie had to make the decision of a lifetime--whether or not to take over the family farm. Apparently, it wasn't a hard decision. Ronnie has farming in his blood. He has impressed many farmers of larger operations with the high level of production on his small piece of land. In addition to raising about 4,000 turkeys a year, the farm boasts over 90 varieties of fruits and vegetables for customers to pick themselves, or buy in their market. He and his wife, Janet, who works alongside Ronnie, live in the 1802 farmhouse with their three children. The farm has been in the family since 1868 and the original barns are still in use. His father and mother live on the farm and remain actively involved in the operations. Ronnie knows he could sell the valuable land, tucked into a mostly residential area of New Jersey. He and his children wouldn't have to work another day, but he says, "What would I do with my time?" He loves his work. It's obvious to anyone visiting this beautiful farm. |
Century
Farm : One Hundred Years on a Family Farm |
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Gobble,
gobble! Can you find Amanda in this picture?
)
Cranberry
Thanksgiving 
Heartland